Theology Makes the News

Theology is often associated solely with religious studies, but more completely and truly, it is the foundation of thought about what it means to be human:  the methods by which we perceive or construct reality, how we form beliefs or establish "truths" about the world and the elements within it, where we look to find or create the life we desire, and how this informs the actions we take daily, which ripple out into the world and affect social theories and societal stability, politics, business, economics, the arts and culture.

Theological study indeed explores the nature and character of God, but upon close consideration of the endeavor, this study clearly can only be attempted within the context of humanity and human events, and the myriad ways these reflect the image of God.  This concept obviously takes a different shape for unique individuals, communities, nation-states and faith traditions.  But don't be fooled by the term "faith."  A theology of faith is revealed equally across communication methods as disparate as President Obama's "Audacity of Hope" campaign, Dr. Francis Collins' discovery of the human genome described in his book "The Language of God," and Christopher Hitchens' deep conviction that "religion poisons everything."  In these instances and more, Theology is literally making the news.

This phenomenon - the pervasive and diverse dialectic around what it means to be human - is driven by language, and is fast departing from segmented, differentiated understandings of concepts often reigned in by borders, and morphing into a global sensibility.  Increasingly, this (often symbolic) language us formulated, ordered and packaged by the American media in particular, which distributes the information we process individually and communally to form the reality in which we must learn how to function.  In my study of Theology at Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, I am utilizing my Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and extensive experience in the field of mass communications to examine this trend that is unceremoniously joining the American media and the theological landscape into an oddly dynamic marriage that has placed global discourse and human interdependence on a new and exciting trajectory.

A New Union

Inspired by a lecture from President Serene Jones exploring Niebuhrian dichotomies of theology, political ideology & spirituality, a reflection on what it means to live life at Union Theological Seminary:

We entered eager and expectant, wide-eyed,

and upon being immersed, understood

that our eyes had not yet known open.

Alighting within these walls from the world and unexpected corners,

assembled here to be reassembled, coming to be broken.

Arriving was like overcoming; the growing is a happy, endless struggle.

But now rooted together, anchored in freedom, we can give names

to what we see before us, to that which we would have never even

noticed before.  You are training our eyes to speak a new language: open.

Irenaeus declared "The glory of God is [hu]man[ity] fully alive."

We find life here; we share it each moment between cupped hands,

warm it for the next one, and smiling, watch it leave home.